Self-sacrificing immune cells spew DNA net

• Autores: Clare Wilson
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3045, 2015, pág. 13
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • As a last-ditch defense against invading microbes, immune cells spew out sticky nets of their DNA. Normally, immune cells called neutrophils kill microbes by gobbling them up or releasing toxic chemicals. But recently it was found that when all else fails, they disgorqe nets of DNA studded with antimicrobial compounds, destroying themselves in the process. The nets can span small blood vessels, ensnaring and killing bacteria. Now Donald Sheppard of McGill University and his team has shown that neutrophils also use this tactic against fungal infections in the lungs. Aspergillus usually infects people with weakened lungs or immune systems, and is too big for a neutrophil to ingest, so the immune cells use their nets to deliver a concentrated dose of toxins. But one virulent strain of Aspergilius seems to evade destruction. Work in mice suggests that this strain has acquired a sugary coating that repels the nets, so Sheppard's team is developing drugs against this coating. The neutrophil nets have a downside, however: they may trap any cancerous cells circulating in the bloodstream, helping them spread into nearby tissues and seeding the growth of secondary tumors.